| The Amber Ruffin Show | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Late-night talk show |
| Created by | Amber Ruffin |
| Presented by | Amber Ruffin |
| Starring | Amber Ruffin Tarik Davis |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 36 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Jenny Hagel Amber Ruffin Seth Meyers Mike Shoemaker |
| Producers | Jason Carden Jennifer Sochko Zoie Mancino Justin McGriff |
| Production locations | Studio 8G,NBC Studios Midtown Manhattan |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions Universal Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | Peacock |
| Release | September 25, 2020 (2020-09-25) – December 16, 2022 (2022-12-16) |
| Related | |
| Late Night with Seth Meyers | |
The Amber Ruffin Show is an American comedylate-night talk show. Produced byUniversal Television and Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions and starringAmber Ruffin, it features a mix ofsketches and monologues. The series was ordered for nine half-hour episodes and premiered onNBCUniversal's video-streaming servicePeacock on September 25, 2020. Peacock ordered an additional 10 episodes in December 2020, and the series was promoted with a brief run on theNBC broadcast network in February and March 2021. The third season premiered on September 30, 2022.[1] In 2023, it was announced the program would only return on occasion as specials but these were never ordered.[2]
The first season received nominations from thePrimetime Emmy Awards,TCA Awards, and theCritics' Choice Television Awards, among others. The second season which premiered on October 8, 2021 received nominations from theTCA Awards,GLAAD Media Awards and theCritics' Choice Television Awards, among others.
The show features comedic monologues and sketches with Ruffin and sidekick Tarik Davis.[3][4][5] The jokes cover topics including current events and politics.
Ruffin's recurring segment "How Did We Get Here" provides an in-depth look at the intersection of race,[6] gender, and politics in America and abroad, including segments onpolice brutality,Meghan Markle,[7] violence against Asian Americans,white supremacy, thefilibuster, and theJanuary 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot.[8]
On September 19, 2019, it was announced thatAmber Ruffin would host her own show onPeacock, the new streaming service fromNBCUniversal.[9] Peacock ordered nine episodes of the limited run series which could receive a full order.[3] The running time is 30 minutes.[10]
The Amber Ruffin Show is produced byUniversal Television and Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions,[3] and the executive producers areJenny Hagel, Amber Ruffin,Seth Meyers, and Mike Shoemaker.[3]
The show premiered on September 25, 2020, on Peacock.[4][11] As of its premiere, Ruffin was the only Black woman on television in the United States headlining a late night talk show.[4] On December 10, 2020, it was announced Peacock had ordered an additional ten episodes of the series.[12] On September 14, 2021, Peacock renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on October 8, 2021.[13]
Ruffin co-writes the show. She retains her job as a writer onLate Night with Seth Meyers.[14] Hagel is the head writer[11] and additional writers areDemi Adejuyigbe,Shantira Jackson, andDewayne Perkins.[15] Patrick Rowland, Nnamdi Ngwe, Corin Wells,Ashley Nicole Black, Ian Morgan, Mike Poole, Zackery Stephens, Erica Buddington, Jill Twiss, and Michael Harriot joined the writing staff in 2021.[16]
The show uses the same studio, Studio 8G, asLate Night with Seth Meyers, though a more intimate set is placed in front of the regularLate Night set, and the show tapes on Fridays for same-day airing whenLate Night is usually dark. Arunning gag at the end of each week's Thursday/early Friday morningLate Night is Ruffin comically intimidating Meyers off his set so her show can set up and record.[17][18]
On February 19, 2021, NBC announced thatThe Amber Ruffin Show would air on the NBC broadcast network at 1:30 a.m. ET/PT for two consecutive Friday nights (early Saturday mornings), February 26 and March 5, replacingA Little Late with Lilly Singh (which typically aired reruns on Friday nights) in its timeslot.[19]
The Amber Ruffin Show received critical acclaim. The first season holds an approval rating of 100% onRotten Tomatoes based on 8 critic reviews.[20] Garrett Martin ofPaste wrote in a review, "if you’ve seen her onLate Night with Seth Meyers, you know how charming and disarming Ruffin can be...For a first episode, last Friday’s debut was remarkably confident and consistent, which is a great sign for the show’s future."[21] Of Ruffin's persona as a host Melanie McFarland wrote forSalon, "In attempting to describe her specific appeal, one struggles to write around terms that are typically disempowering to women like "adorable" or "spunky" or any other descriptor that would rightly merit a slap in the face. Ruffin's plugs into them, though. They're her power sources."[22] Kathryn VanArendonk ofVulture described the show warmly, writing, "Even from the first episodes on Peacock, Ruffin’s host persona was already in place, in all its iterations: her sweet, slightly sly baseline; the heightened camp of her goofiest sketches; the pivot toward directness and exasperation in her political segments. She delights in toggling between the broad and the specific."[23]
The show was nominated forOutstanding Writing for a Variety Series at the73rd Primetime Emmy Awards.[24]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Primetime Emmy Awards[25] | Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series | Jenny Hagel,Demi Adejuyigbe,Ashley Nicole Black, Michael Harriot, Shantira Jackson, Ian Morgan,Dewayne Perkins, andAmber Ruffin | Nominated |
| Television Critics Association Awards[26] | Outstanding Achievement in Variety, Talk or Sketch | The Amber Ruffin Show | Nominated | |
| Writers Guild of America Awards[27] | Comedy/Variety Sketch Series | Jenny Hagel, Demi Adejuyigbe, Shantira Jackson, Dewayne Perkins, Amber Ruffin, and John Lutz | Nominated | |
2022 | Black Reel Awards for Television[28] | Outstanding Variety, Talk or Sketch – Series or Special | Jason Carden, Jen Sochko, Zoie Mancino. Amber Ruffin, and Jenny Hagel | Nominated |
| Critics' Choice Television Awards[29] | Best Talk Show | The Amber Ruffin Show | Nominated | |
| Dorian Awards[30] | Best Current Affairs Program | Nominated | ||
| GLAAD Media Awards[31] | Outstanding Variety or Talk Show Episode | The Amber Ruffin Show(for "Bisexual Superman Is Not Ruining Your Childhood, B*tch Please") | Nominated | |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards[32] | Best Streaming Variety Sketch Series, Talk Series, or Special | The Amber Ruffin Show | Nominated | |
| NAACP Image Awards[33] | Outstanding Host in a Reality, Game Show or Variety (Series or Special) | Amber Ruffin | Nominated | |
| Television Critics Association Awards[34] | Outstanding Achievement in Variety, Talk or Sketch | The Amber Ruffin Show | Nominated |
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